Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

AT&T 250 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS – NASCAR BUSCH SERIES

Brad Coleman was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the June 16 Meijer 300 presented by Oreo at Kentucky. Coleman finished second his best finish in nine Busch Series starts and grabbed his first top-five effort in the NASCAR Busch Series. He took Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the second time in 2007.

Coleman led 36 laps and captured WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors for the second time this season. He is the only Raybestos® Rookie to capture the honor more than once.

David Ragan leads Marcos Ambrose by 11 points (167-156) entering the June 23 AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee Mile (West Allis, Wisc.).

Ragan is sixth in the Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is 31 points behind fifth-place Regan Smith and leads seventh-place Greg Biffle by 66.

Three Raybestos® Rookies have captured WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors in the Busch Series this season: Brad Coleman (Talladega, race No. 10 and Kentucky, race No. 16), Marcos Ambrose (Las Vegas, race No. 4) and Juan Pablo Montoya (Mexico City, race No. 3).

DID YOU KNOW? Montoya has led more laps than any other Raybestos® Rookie this season, holding the top spot five times in two races for a total of 51 laps.

DID YOU KNOW? TWO Raybestos® Rookies have won pole positions this season: David Ragan (O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, race No. 8) and Brad Coleman (Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway, race No. 10).

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has won at least one race in each of the past FOUR consecutive seasons (2004-2007).

Danny O’Quinn Jr. was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee Mile, scoring a seventh-place finish. O’Quinn Jr. claimed Raybestos® Rookie of the Year honors by one point over John Andretti in the closet margin in national series history.

DID YOU KNOW? Only one Raybestos® Rookie has won at Milwaukee: Greg Biffle in 2001, who won by a whopping 13.302 seconds. Biffle led the race twice for a total of 19 laps.

DID YOU KNOW? Four Raybestos® Rookies have scored top-five finishes at Milwaukee since the program was created in 1989:
1993: Hermie Sadler, third
1994: Johnny Benson, third
1997: Steve Park, fifth
2001: Greg Biffle, FIRST
2003: David Stremme, third

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at The Milwaukee Mile:
1993: Hermie Sadler, third
1994: Johnny Benson, third
1994: Dennis Setzer, ninth
1995: Curtis Markham, seventh
1997: Steve Park, fifth
1999: Tony Roper, 10th
2000: Jimmie Johnson, ninth
2000: Ron Hornaday, 10th
2001: Greg Biffle, FIRST
2002: Shane Hmiel, sixth
2003: David Stremme, third
2005: Denny Hamlin, sixth
2006: Danny O’Quinn Jr., seventh

DID YOU KNOW? TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished inside the top-10 just once in 14 races at Milwaukee. In 2000, Jimmie Johnson (ninth) and Ron Hornaday (10th) accomplished the feat.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

Kyle Busch posted a record-setting year on his way to the 2004 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title. In 34 starts, Busch won five times, captured five poles and scored 16 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes. His second-place finish in the Busch Series championship standings is a record for a Raybestos® Rookie. Other Raybestos® Rookie records Busch owns or shares: most starts (34), most wins (tied with Biffle), most top fives (tied with Biffle), most top 10s, most money won ($2,027,050), most championship points (4,943), most laps led (1,108) and most races led (21).

David Stremme holds the record for fewest starts by a driver to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. In 2003, he started just 18 of the 34 races and was the top rookie finisher in 16 of those starts. He was the only Raybestos® Rookie to score three top-three finishes and had more top-10 finishes (seven) than any other first-year driver. He led six races for a total of 86 laps.

David Green was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a race, at Lanier, Ga., in 1991. Green captured the Nestle 200 by 1.58-seconds over Jeff Gordon, a fellow Raybestos® Rookie. A third Raybestos® Rookie, Todd Bodine, placed eighth in the race.

Dennis Setzer was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win TWO or more races in a season. In 1994, he won the Ford Credit 300 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and The Pantry 300 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Steve Park was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win THREE or more races in a season. In 1997, he won the BellSouth Mobility/Opryland 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Speedway, the Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan International Speedway and the Autolite Platinum 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

Kenny Wallace was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole in the Busch Series. Wallace grabbed the top starting spot for the 1989 Goody’s 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the first race in the history of the Raybestos® Rookie of the Year program.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
David Ragan 167
Marcos Ambrose 156 
Juan Pablo Montoya 137 
Kyle Krisiloff 137
Brad Keselowski 87
Brad Coleman 70 
Justin Diercks 51
Robert Richardson Jr. 44
Sam Hornish Jr. 35
Bobby Santos 13 
Alex Garcia 7 

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
ORBITZ 300 Ambrose, 16th 
Stater Bros. 300 Peters, 17th 
Telcel-Motorola 200 Montoya, FIRST
Sam’s Town 300 Ambrose, 10th 
Nicorette 300 Montoya, eighth
Sharpie Mini 300 Ragan, 13th 
Pepsi 300 Coleman, 15th 
O’Reilly 300 Ragan, fifth
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Montoya, 21st 
Aaron’s 312 Ragan, fourth
Circuit City 250 Montoya, 11th 
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Ragan, 13th 
CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 Ambrose, 20th 
Dover 200 Ambrose, sixth
Federated Auto Parts 300 Ragan, seventh
Meijer 300 presented by Oreo Coleman, second